Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 141492 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 472(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 141492 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 472(@300wpm)
CHAPTER
12
Petru pushed down the dominant Carpathian male attitude and regarded his lifemate, attempting to see the situation through her eyes. His life would remain unchanged while hers would be completely different. She was the one giving up everything familiar to join her life to his.
“Sívamet.” He leaned toward her and used his most compelling voice, a brush of velvet over her skin. “Why would you think you would not remain Imazighen? That is who you are. The best part. Nothing can change that.”
“You told me your blood would reshape my internal organs. Make me like you.” There was uncertainty in Safia’s voice. She was struggling to understand him.
Petru knew it was a difficult concept to grasp. “Your body isn’t you, Safia. It isn’t your heart or your mind. Your character is wholly Imazighen. Nothing will ever change who you are,” he reiterated. “Certainly not the blood of a Carpathian. It will enhance your speed. You will have other abilities. You will be better able to defend your family, but you as a person will remain the same. You will always be Imazighen.”
She looked unconvinced. “Will I have to survive on blood?”
“Yes. And you will have to sleep in the ground with me.”
She shook her head before he finished speaking. “No. That will leave my family unprotected during the day. I can’t do that. Lilith sends demons during daylight hours. If she became aware there was no protection for my family, or even Dellys, she would send as many demons as possible to wreak havoc and turn neighbor against neighbor.”
“Lilith made a mistake when she waited for so long. She thought everyone would forget. There was no written history of what really happened two thousand years ago in the war. She didn’t count on your ancestors, Safia. She didn’t realize that your family would retell the stories and honor the promises Kahina and her husband made to me. For centuries, your family has trained to fight demons and vampires. When there was no war, they still didn’t forget. They continued to prepare. Consequently, they began to be born with the skills of other generations that came before imprinted on them. Not all but most.”
“My brothers and sisters have skills, but they cannot defeat demons without me.”
“That may be true, Safia, but with our combined skills, Aura, my brethren and the two of us can weave safeguards and consecrate the ground and air so that she is unable to send her demons to do mayhem until we rise.”
He didn’t take his gaze from hers, needing to read her reaction. She had courage, his woman. She knew she had been promised to him long ago, and she was honorable. She also knew she was destined for him. The ritual words tying them together had convinced her. Still, he was asking a lot of her when she didn’t yet trust him.
“I’ll need time to think about what you’re asking of me, Petru. This is no small thing. I hadn’t ever conceived of it. It’s quite terrifying, actually.”
The tip of her tongue moistened the curve of her lower lip, drawing his attention to the full bow of her mouth. She had a beautiful mouth. He could fixate on her mouth if he allowed himself the luxury. Full. Soft. He knew if he kissed her, he would taste a mixture of desire, jasmine and fear. He didn’t want her to fear him.
The more he sat there with her in that remote cave, far from her family or anyone else she knew, offering her little in the way of comfort, the more he understood what the vows he made to her meant.
The color slowly leeched from under her skin. She twisted her fingers together in her lap. “You don’t mean to give me any time to process this, do you? You brought me here to make the third blood exchange and intend to whether I agree or not.”
There was no denying her charge. She knew his ruthless character just from the few glimpses she had into his past. She would be giving up everything for him. He had to give her something in return, even if it would damn him forever in her eyes. He wanted her respect more than that of any other, yet once he admitted his greatest weakness and shame—and he knew he had to give that to her—she would never look at him the same.
Petru forced his gaze to continue to meet hers. Her eyes had changed color from jade to a lighter emerald than he’d ever seen before. She looked different. Softer. Less frightened. She didn’t speak but held his gaze, waiting for his response.
“Safia, I am aware that as your lifemate, I have failed you in every way. If I could, I would make the choice to allow you to live as a human if that was your wish. I would grow old with you and die when you did. Unfortunately, that is not a choice either of us have. That is my failing, not yours.”